18May16

Iraqi forces report recapturing city in western Anbar

The Iraqi military has claimed that it, along with "tribal forces," have
recaptured the western city of Rutbah. Rutbah sits within the desert and has
long been an Islamic State stronghold.

After officially launching the operation yesterday, the military has reported its
forces have entered the city and "liberated the city's northern entrance."
Reuters has also reported that the military was able to penetrate the city from
the south and take control of a district. The wire news service also quoteed an
Iraqi military official as saying, "We expect we will be able to reach the center
of Rutbah tomorrow morning." The official says that the military "faced little
resistance" in the town, but the Islamic State has claimed otherwise.

The Islamic State, via its Amaq News Agency, claims to have utilized two
suicide bombers in recent days on Iraqi troops near Rutbah.

The Iraqi military said that Sunni tribal fighters have assisted in the effort to
recapture the town. According to Ahl al Bayt News Agency, a Shia news site,
the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU's) are also involved. However, as of
publishing, it is unclear if the PMU forces taking part are Sunni units or the
larger Shia militias which dominate the force.

In the last four days, the US has launched at least six airstrikes against
Islamic State positions in or near Rutbah. On May 14, US CENTCOM reported
that "four strikes struck an ISIL [an acronym for the Islamic State] tactical
unit, an ISIL headquarters, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device
(VBIED or suicide car bomb) facility, and an ISIL staging facility." In the last
two days, two airstrikes hit 10 fighting positions and another VBIED.

Rutbah is an important staging location for the Islamic State, as it allows the
jihadist group to support operations throughout Anbar province. This includes
operations towards the important centers of Ramadi and Fallujah and even
the Al Waleed border crossing with Syria and the Trebil border crossing with
Jordan. The jihadist group also maintained the "Sheikh Abu Ibrahim" training
camp in Rutbah, which was popularized by the now infamous photo of Islamic
State commander Abu Wahib.

Abu Wahib, who was the leader of the Islamic State's forces in Rutbah and
the wider Anbar province, was recently killed in a US airstrike. Abu Wahib,
whose full name is Shakir Wahib al Fahdawi al Dulaimi, waged jihad in Iraq
for more than a decade. He was detained by US forces in Ramadi in 2006
during the height of al Qaeda in Iraq's insurgency. Wahib was sentenced to
death and transferred to Tikrit Central Prison. In November 2012, he escaped
along with 110 inmates after the Islamic State of Iraq assaulted the prison. By
2013, Abu Wahib emerged as the Islamic State in Iraq's military commander
for Anbar province.

Rutbah was the scene of an Islamic State decapitation strike against the Iraqi
military's 7th Division in December 2013, when the group was still part of al
Qaeda's network. The Islamic State killed the commander of the Iraqi Army's
7th Division, the commander of the 28th Brigade, and 16 officers and soldiers
in a well-planned suicide attack. The decapitation strike put the Iraqi military
in Anbar in disarray, and helped the Islamic State take over territory in the
province.

The loss of Rutbah would severely hinder the Islamic State's operations in
Iraq's Anbar province. The Islamic State has suffered major setbacks in Anbar
over the past several months, losing Ramadi, the provincial capital as well as
the nearby town of Hit. The Islamic State still controls Fallujah in the East as
well as all of the towns west of Anah along the Euphrates River in addition to
contiguous territory across the border in Syria.

[Source: By Bill Roggio and Caleb Weiss, The Long War Journal, NJ, 18May16]

This document has been published on 27May16 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with
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